Power supply with a cooling function

ABSTRACT

A power supply with a cooling function includes a power supply case, a thermoelectric cooling module and a cold side heat dissipation member. The thermoelectric cooling module disposed at an installation surface opening on the power supply case has a cold side and a hot side. The hot side extends to the inside of the power supply case, and the cold side heat dissipation member for improving heat exchange is coupled with the cold side and extends to the outside of the power supply case.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is based on, and claims priority from, TaiwanApplication Serial Number 94212496, filed Jul. 22, 2005, the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a power supply. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to a power supply with a cooling function.

2. Description of Related Art

Power sources of electronic apparatuses are generally transmitted from apower plant to a socket to which a power supply is connected. The powersupply rectifies, transforms and filters alternating current and thenprovides it to apparatuses. Especially in a computer system, a powersupply simultaneously provides several apparatuses with power foroperation. A power supply is typically disposed near a centralprocessing unit (CPU) in a computer in which the CPU operatesindependently and has no cooperation with the power supply.

The central processing unit is generally equipped with a heatdissipation apparatus such as a CPU fan for preventing devices in thecomputer from failure due to a high temperature caused by heat generatedduring operation of the CPU. The CPU fan draws air from within thecomputer system to cool the CPU. The cooling effectiveness depends onthe temperature of the air; the lower the temperature, the better thecooling. Thus, the internal air circulated by a CPU fan, which is heatedby the devices operating in the computer system and is generally muchwarmer than the external room temperature air, has limited effectivenessin cooling a CPU.

SUMMARY

It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a powersupply with a cooling function to supply power and coolingsimultaneously.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a powersupply with a cooling function to enhance a cooling efficiency for a CPUin a computer system.

In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives of the presentinvention, a power supply with a cooling function is provided. The powersupply with a cooling function includes a power supply case, athermoelectric cooling module and a cold side heat dissipation member.The thermoelectric cooling module disposed at an installation surfaceopening of the power supply case has a cold side facing the outside ofthe power supply case, and a hot side facing the inside of the powersupply case. The cold side heat dissipation member coupled with the coldside extends out of the power supply case for heat exchanging withexternal air outside the power supply case to lower the external airtemperature.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the powersupply further includes a heat containment chamber having a firstpassage opening and a second passage opening. The power supply casefurther includes an outward opening coupled to the first passage openingand an inward opening coupled to the second passage opening. Also, a fanis installed between the first passage opening and the outward openingto direct heat gathered around the hot side to the outside of the case.

The power supply further integrates a temperature control module formonitoring a temperature data to adjust a fan power source so that a fanspeed can be controlled appropriately, and a humidity control module formonitoring a humidity data to adjust a thermoelectric cooling modulepower source so that an output power of the thermoelectric coolingmodule can be controlled appropriately.

In conclusion, the power supply of the invention provides an extrafunction of lowering the temperature inside a system during operation byintegrating a thermoelectric cooling module, especially for most presentcomputer systems in which the installation location of the power supplyis standardized. The present invention takes advantage of thestandardized arrangement of the power supply to allow a CPU fan to drawheat exchanged air of lower temperature so that cooling efficiency forthe CPU is raised.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are by examples and are intended toprovide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1A is an exploded view of a power supply in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view of a part of a power supply inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a temperature control system in accordancewith another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a humidity control system in accordancewith another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of applying the power supply in a computersystem;

FIG. 4A is a schematic view of a cold side heat dissipation member inaccordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 4B is a schematic view of another aspect of the cold side heatdissipation member in FIG. 4A.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention discloses a power supply with a cooling function,which not only provides power but also cools a system air. Referencewill now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of theinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in thedrawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts:

FIG. 1A is an exploded view of a power supply in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a schematicplan view of a part of a power supply in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, a power supply with a cooling functionincludes a power supply case 100, a thermoelectric cooling module 120and a cold side heat dissipation member 130. The power supply case 100has an installation surface opening 106 at which the thermoelectriccooling module 120 is disposed. The thermoelectric cooling module 120includes a hot side 124 extending into the inside of the power supplycase 100 and a cold side 122 coupled with the cold side heat dissipationmember 130. The cold side heat dissipation member 130 extends out of thepower supply 100 for advancing heat exchange on the cold side 122.

In the embodiment, a power supply with a cooling function includes apower supply case 100, a power supply unit 110 and a heat containmentchamber 140. The power supply case 100 includes a first cover 100 a anda second cover 100 b having a first outward opening 102 a, a secondoutward opening 102 b and an inward opening 104, wherein the secondoutward opening 102 b has a mesh structure. The power supply unit 110disposed in the power supply case 100 includes a supply fan 114 and acircuit module 112 on which the supply fan 114 is installed, forexample, on the edge of power supply unit 110 and adjacent to orprotruding from the first outward opening 102 a. The power supply switch174 determines the start of the power supply and/or supply fan 114.

The heat containment chamber 140 has a heat passage 144, a first passageopening 144 a and a second passage opening 144 b. The first passageopening 144 a and the second passage opening 144 b are on both ends ofthe heat containment chamber 140 respectively, and are adjacent to orprotruding from the second outward opening 102 b and the inward opening104 respectively. An installation surface 108 of the first cover 100 ahas an installation surface opening 106 at which the thermoelectriccooling module 120 is disposed. A cold side 122 of the thermoelectriccooling module 120 is coupled with a cold side heat dissipation member130; preferably, the cold side heat dissipation member 130 includes atleast a concave structure 132 and a projection whereby cold energy isaccumulated.

A hot side 124 of the thermoelectric cooling module 120 is furthercoupled with a hot side heatsink 136 extending into the inside of thepower supply case 100. Further, a chamber sidewall 142 of the heatcontainment chamber 140 is coupled with a connecting sidewall 146 sothat the hot side heatsink 136 is enclosed and heat is gathered in theheat passage 144, reducing or even preventing heat from spreading to thepower supply unit 110. Preferably, the connecting sidewall 146 and/orthe chamber sidewall 142 is made of heat insulating material. Analuminum foil 148 can be attached inside the heat containment chamber140 for reducing heat radiation.

A first fan 150 a and a second fan 150 b are disposed at two openings144 a and 144 b on both ends of the heat containment chamber 140, withthe first fan 150 a disposed at the first passage opening 144 a and thesecond fan 150 b disposed at the second passage opening 144 b. Thesecond fan 150 b draws air from a computer system to the heat passage144 and also helps forcing the air in the heat passage 144 toward thefirst fan 150 a, and then the first fan 150 a directs the air to theoutside of the system.

The power supply further includes a thermoelectric cooling module switch176 which controls the start and stop of the thermoelectric coolingmodule 120. The thermoelectric cooling module switch 176 is alsoconnected to a lighting device 180 through a circuit. When thethermoelectric cooling module switch 176 is turned on, the circuit isalso active and the lighting device 180 shines to suggest the actuationof the thermoelectric cooling module 120 to users.

When the power supply is installed in an electronic system, outwardopenings 102 a and 102 b face an external environment and the inwardopening 104 faces the inside of the system. In a computer system, theinstallation surface 108 is near a CPU.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams of a temperature control system and ahumidity control system in accordance with another preferred embodimentof the present invention. The power supply further integrates atemperature control module 210 a and a humidity control module 210 b toconstitute a temperature control system and a humidity control system.The temperature control module 210 a monitors an environment temperatureand controls a fan power source 230 a; for example, several temperaturelevels can be established to correspond to different fan speeds forcontrolling noise from the fan 240 a.

In the embodiment, the temperature control module 210 a includes atemperature sensor 212 a for measuring the environment temperature dataand a temperature regulator 214 a. As shown in FIG. 1B, the temperaturesensor 170 b is disposed near or on the hot side heatsink. Thetemperature sensor 212 a transmits the temperature data to thetemperature regulator 214 a, and then the temperature regulator 214 aadjusts a supply of power from the fan power source 230 a according tothe temperature data, such as by raising or lowering current or voltageto control a fan speed of the fan 240 a. Specifically, the fan is thefirst fan 150 a or the second fan 150 b in FIG. 1A.

The humidity control module 210 b monitors an environment humidity inthe system such as a relative humidity. When the relative humidityreaches 100%, dew forms, and higher relative humidity corresponds tohigher dew point temperature. Therefore, the humidity control module 210b is adapted for adjusting a supply of power from a thermoelectriccooling module power source 230 b. When detecting a humidity higher thana predetermined value, the humidity control module 210 b adjusts thethermoelectric cooling module power source 230 b to lower an outputpower of the thermoelectric cooling module 240 b so that the temperaturein the system is prevented from reaching the dew point temperature.

In the embodiment, the humidity control module 210 b includes a humiditysensor 212 b and a humidity regulator 214 b. The humidity sensor 212 bmeasures the environment humidity data. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1B,a humidity sensor 170 a is disposed at a gap 160 formed by the cold sideheat dissipation member 130 and the first cover 100 a; for example, thehumidity sensor 170 a may be attached on the first cover 100 a or on thecold side heat dissipation member 130, which generally renders a lowertemperature by its structural uniqueness. The humidity regulator 214 breceives and utilizes the environment humidity data to adjust the supplyof power from the thermoelectric cooling module power source 230 b sothat the output power of the thermoelectric cooling module 240 b can bechanged appropriately.

The thermoelectric cooling module power source and the fan power sourceabove may be powered by the power supply unit or by individual powersources, and it can be known and carried out without difficulty by thoseskilled in the art. Further, in the embodiment, the humidity controlmodule and the temperature control module are integrated into a controlcircuit board 170 (shown in FIG. 1A).

Referring to FIG. 3, which illustrates a schematic view of applying thepower supply of the present invention in a computer system. When a powersupply of the present invention is installed in a computer system suchas a desktop computer system, the power supply 310 is disposed at anupper part of a chassis 300 and is oriented so that a side having thecold side heat dissipation member 314 faces a CPU fan 330 (in thefigure, it is above the CPU fan 330).

When the thermoelectric cooling module 312 is operating, the cold sidelowers a surrounding temperature and the cold side heat dissipationmember 314 advances a heat exchange with a system air 340 nearby.Therefore, the CPU fan 330 installed on a main board 320 draws thesystem air 340, a part of which comes from a heat-exchanged andlow-temperature air surrounding the cold side, and thus the effect oncooling the CPU is improved.

FIG. 4A illustrates a schematic view of a cold side heat dissipationmember in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. The cold side heat dissipation member extendedly approachinga CPU 470 includes a base 402, a connecting part 404 and a heatdissipation body 406. The base 402 is coupled with a cold side 422 of athermoelectric cooling module 420, and the connecting part 404 isconnected to the base 402. Preferably, the connecting part 404 ispivoted at the base 402 so that a rotation in a first rotation direction412 by a tuner 408 is allowed. The heat dissipation body 406 is coupledwith the connecting part 404 and is rotationally relative to theconnecting part 404 in a second rotating direction 414.

Further, an end 406 a of the heat dissipation body 406 forms a structurewith a passing hole 430 for improving heat exchange. The cold side heatdissipation member is made of heat conductive material, and preferably,surfaces of the base 402, the connecting part 404 and a portion of theheat dissipation body 406 are coated with heat-insulated leather paintfor heat insulation and cold energy dissipation occurring at the end 406a. The cold energy from the cold side 422 is transmitted through thebase 402 and the connecting part 404 and eventually to the heatdissipation body 406, which is a way of distributing more cooled systemair to the CPU 470 to help cool it.

FIG. 4B is a schematic view of another aspect of the cold side heatdissipation member in FIG. 4A. In accordance with the embodiment in FIG.4A, another aspect of the cold side heat dissipation member is that theheat dissipation body 406 is coupled with a CPU heatsink 472 for the CPU470. For example, the end 406 a may be inserted in the CPU heatsink 472so that cold energy is transmitted directly to the CPU heatsink 472 andis utilized efficiently to cool the CPU heatsink 472, which alsoimproves the cooling of the CPU 470. The end 406 a is made of heatconductive material and may be wrapped from an original type of wire formore convenient extension. Copper wires or aluminum wires may be chosento be wrapped with a heat insulating elastic material, and a part ofwhich are exposed to be inserted in the CPU heatsink 472.

The present invention has the following advantage. The present inventionintegrates a thermoelectric cooling module into a power supply andprovides a function of cooling system air during the operation of acomputer system so that the CPU fan draws a low temperature air to coolthe CPU. Consequently, heat dissipation efficiency is raised. Throughthe humidity control system, dewing is prevented to better protect thesystem.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure of the presentinvention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present inventioncover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fallwithin the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A power supply with a cooling function, comprising: a power supply case having an installation surface opening; a thermoelectric cooling module disposed at the installation surface opening and having a cold side and a hot side, wherein the hot side extends into the inside of the power supply case; and a cold side heat dissipation member coupled with the cold side and extending out of the power supply case.
 2. The power supply of claim 1, further comprising a hot side heatsink coupled to the hot side.
 3. The power supply of claim 1, further comprising: an outward opening on the power supply case; an inward opening on the power supply case; a first fan adjacent to the outward opening; and a heat containment chamber having a first passage opening at which the first fan is disposed and a second passage opening adjacent to the inward opening.
 4. The power supply of claim 3, further comprising an aluminum foil attached inside the heat containment chamber.
 5. The power supply of claim 3, further comprising a second fan disposed at the second passage opening.
 6. The power supply of claim 3, further comprising a temperature control module connected with a fan power source for detecting a temperature and adjusting a supply of power from the fan power source to control a fan speed.
 7. The power supply of claim 1, further comprising a humidity control module connected with a thermoelectric cooling module power source for detecting a humidity and adjusting a supply of power from the thermoelectric cooling module power source to control an output power of the thermoelectric cooling module.
 8. The power supply of claim 7, wherein the humidity control module comprises a humidity sensor disposed at a gap formed by the cold side heat dissipation member and the power supply case.
 9. The power supply of claim 1, wherein the cold side heat dissipation member comprises a concave structure and a projection.
 10. The power supply of claim 1, wherein the cold side heat dissipation member extendedly approaches a CPU.
 11. The power supply of claim 1, wherein the cold side heat dissipation member comprises a base coupled with the cold side, a connecting part coupled with the base and a heat dissipation body coupled with the connecting part.
 12. The power supply of claim 1, wherein a portion of the cold side heat dissipation member is inserted in a CPU heatsink.
 13. A power supply with a cooling function, comprising: a power supply case having an installation surface opening; a power supply unit disposed inside the power supply case; a thermoelectric cooling module disposed at the installation surface opening, powered by the power supply unit and having a cold side and a hot side, wherein the hot side extends into the inside of the power supply case; a hot side heatsink coupled to the hot side; and a cold side heat dissipation member coupled with the cold side and extending out of the power supply case.
 14. The power supply of claim 13, further comprising a humidity control module connected with a thermoelectric cooling module power source, comprising: a humidity sensor for detecting an environment humidity data; and a humidity regulator receiving the environment humidity data and adjusting a supply of power from the thermoelectric cooling module power source according to the environment humidity data.
 15. The power supply of claim 13, further comprising: an outward opening on the power supply case; an inward opening on the power supply case; a first fan adjacent to the outward opening; and a heat containment chamber having a first passage opening at which the first fan is disposed and a second passage opening adjacent to the inward opening.
 16. A computer system, comprising: a chassis; a power supply case disposed inside the chassis and having an installation surface opening; a thermoelectric cooling module disposed at the installation surface opening and having a cold side and a hot side extending to the inside of the power supply case; a cold side heat dissipation member coupled with the cold side and extending out of the power supply case for heat exchanging with a system air; and a CPU fan disposed under the cold side heat dissipation member and drawing the system air to cool a CPU.
 17. The computer system of claim 16, further comprising a hot side heatsink coupled with the hot side.
 18. The computer system of claim 16, further comprising: an outward opening on the power supply case; an inward opening on the power supply case; a first fan adjacent to the outward opening; and a heat containment chamber having a first passage opening at which the first fan is disposed and a second passage opening adjacent to the inward opening.
 19. The computer system of claim 18, further comprising a temperature control module connected with a fan power source, comprising: a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature data; and a temperature regulator receiving the temperature data and adjusting a supply of power from the fan power source according to the temperature data.
 20. The computer system of claim 16, further comprising a humidity control module connected with a thermoelectric cooling module power source, comprising: a humidity sensor for detecting a humidity data; and a humidity regulator receiving the humidity data and adjusting a supply of power from the thermoelectric cooling module power source according to the humidity data. 